Soft Skills and Safety Professional

Soft Skills and Safety Management System?

Safety management system is a biggest challenge for Industries and service providers to maintain required standards, procedures, and statutory norms. In present time at corporate level topmost importance is given to workplace safety and health to align safety management with the business process. Safety professionals manage to demonstrate preventive and corrective actions through policies and procedures in organization.

Safety personnel need proactive approach in problem solving, and proven ability to promote safety programs and work efficiently in both independent and teamwork environment, which includes lot of challenges at workplace for safety management. ?

It is well said and experienced that soft skills are at top of the list of skills required to manage safety and health at workplace. Technical skills contribute only 15% to success but soft skills are responsible for the balance 85%

Hard skills are considered as technical skills for a specific activity, it can be evaluated for work performance and are being taught in structured manner through training programs. The technical skill is the ability to perform specific tasks, duties like operation, maintenance, and other support services. Hard skills can be taught to person who wants to learn them.

Soft skills and abilities are not as formal as technical skills, but they pertain to personality, attitude, and behaviour. Man is a social animal & his success in life largely depends on his relationship & interaction with others, we must respect the knowledge, skills, competency, and sentiments of others. When we want to differ their views, we must politely give hints to them without wondering their feeling. ?

Soft skills include common sense, ability to deal with people, positive flexible attitude as it is intrapersonal. It determines a person's ability to excel at workplace and in life. It is very much essential for Team Leader and team members to establish for active participation.

Soft skills are not only positive attitude, self-esteem, communication, team building, body language, leadership ability, etiquette, presentation skills, conflict resolution and decision making, self -motivation, self-discipline, persuasion, creative thinking but there are many more also.

Soft skills include:

• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Creativity and Innovation
• Working with People
• Communication
• Active Learning
• ?Teamwork
• Time Management and Ability to work
• Decision making
• Presentation skills
• Leadership

Critical Thinking

The term critical thinking can be defined as “the mental process of analyzing or evaluating information.” The better you gather, disseminate, and interpret information from the growing number of tasks, the better you are seeing what those numbers are saying. Then, relay that information in the form of meaningful advice.

Problem Solving:

Problem solving is an important soft skill for growing relationships with management. The core value every business is problems solving process. The overwhelming majority of the management drive home the solutions and benefits.

Problem solving process includes creativity with individual critical thinking, analytical abilities, developing solutions rather than merely identifying the problem. Problem solving process requires to think outside the box, be proactive and not reactive, be alert to potential risks & threats, be knowledgeable, defining problems and finding solutions through brainstorm exercises with others.

Creativity and Innovation:

To be a creative and innovative one need to think out of box, it is an art which everybody does not have. Most of all organizations encourage their employee to come up with new ideas which make sense and suggest for improvements. To enhance and improve safety and health, quality, and productivity, innovative solutions are welcome. The creative and innovative ideas may increase efficiency and deliver a higher level of service to manage safety and health at workplace.

Creativity and problem-solving skills are hard to develop hence they are highly valued. Creative thinkers are born, some people find these skills much easier.

Working with People and Teamwork:

It is a requirement to work with people, it is utmost important to improve on how one gets along with and boost work performance. The management set expectations from team as well as from individuals.

Teamwork includes ability to work cooperatively with others, exchange ideas & support and build trust. In teamwork one should be willing to assist, recognize each other’s accomplishments for common goal and commitment. The key points for teamwork are proper allocation of tasks, people of either gender, different age groups, qualification, status & skills, they work as a team player with a common objective to accomplish the task

Teamwork involves a combination of other soft skills also. Working in a team towards a common goal requires the intuition and interpersonal to know when to be a leader, and when to be a listener. Good team players are receptive, as well as perceptive to the needs and responsibilities of others.

Communication:

Communication makes everyone on the same page, it helps to feel more in control in a better position. Prompt communication is the key to implement the safety laws. There are three types of communication, one interpersonal, second written and third is verbal. ?

Successful communication must include proper sending and receiving information, focus & concentration at workplace, proper presentation of information whether verbally or written. Communication also includes active listening, asking questions. The ability to speak fluently using the right word in the right order is good communication which can build long term rapport, a longer-term relationship. ?

Writing, evaluates a person’s proficiency, while writing instructions, circulars, reports & agenda considerably indicate the image of the writer, Good visual presentation using graphics, Color, balanced design layout- add so much to written communication.

Active learning:

Active learning is an essential soft skill which educate an individual without reading books and thinking about theory, continuous learning is lifelong and most important hence one should actively learn to improve your skills.

Time Management and Ability to work:

Time Management and ability to work under pressure, these two skills, go together and they are more an attitude than a skill hence it is to be developed and honed. This skill is highly valued by employers, very useful for organizing a team, and for making sure that the job gets done.

Decision making:

To take a decision is key to success, employer value employee who takes decision. Out of total nos. of decision taken, even 8 nos. are very good, it leads to success to manage safety at workplace. Sometimes the timely taken decision reduces accident/incident.

Presentation skills:

Presentation skills can be categorized into physical, oral, & electronic. Presentation skills include planning, preparation & delivery of the message, making a formal speech through toolbox talk is one form of presentation. Success in work depends on presenting ideas in an appropriate manner, look at the eyes of audience & speak in a natural, conversational voice.

Leadership:

Leadership is a collection of various soft skills, positive attitude and outlook, Ability to communicate effectively, An aptitude for both self-motivating and motivating others. Leadership can manage the show even if you’re not directly managing others.

Soft skills are also called people skills as soft skills are applicable across job titles. Everyone learns soft skills from childhood in family. The soft skills are going to excel business process and these attributes a competitive advantage. Many times problems and noncompliance at workplace are not only due to lack of technical skill, competency, and knowledge of safety but they are due to poor communication and required motivation. Human opinion, involvement and reaction or views are equally important for safety and health management at workplace. ??

Organization Policy to encourage Creativity and innovation, structured training, coaching, and hand holding to focus on business processes as safety and health is considered overriding factor in industries. Top-level management to have commitment, provide required resources, and authority for safety and health management initiatives. More and more businesses are considering soft skills as important job as a criterion.